Iceland

[love_the_life]

Icelandair offer some really good trans Atlantic fares, the 'catch' being that you have to go via and overnight in Keflavik/Reykjavik. Its the way many students fly. I imagine it'll be more expensive if you stop over, but still good value.


I once went biz LHR-KEF on Icelandair and the only wine with lunch was something called 'Koala white' <vom>.

And on that theme Kaiser, did you try the local Hákarl?

We visited Iceland as part of an Arctic cruise -called into to a number of places before disembarking in Reykjavik and yes we did try the famed fermented shark. It is clearly an acquired taste.

Thanks for the TR - brought back great memories.

 

[henleybeach]

Sounds and looks great. Good little report. We have booked a separate one way flight from NYC to Zurich as part of our mini round the world and we have used Iceland air. We added a 4 night stop over and they charge nothing extra. I think they allow a 7 day free stopover. All up it was $450 pp

 

[Kaiser]

Sounds and looks great. Good little report. We have booked a separate one way flight from NYC to Zurich as part of our mini round the world and we have used Iceland air. We added a 4 night stop over and they charge nothing extra. I think they allow a 7 day free stopover. All up it was $450 pp

With 4 days to spare you could do a return trip Reykjavik-Goldern Circle region-Vik or Reykjavik to the Westfjords region by car. As nice a city as Reykjavik is, I'd recommend spending majority of your time out in the countryside- but then I'm more the outdoors/hiking type. What month are you going?

 

[henleybeach]

With 4 days to spare you could do a return trip Reykjavik-Goldern Circle region-Vik or Reykjavik to the Westfjords region by car. As nice a city as Reykjavik is, I'd recommend spending majority of your time out in the countryside- but then I'm more the outdoors/hiking type. What month are you going?

I have only booked the flights so far . I was planning on hiring a car for the days just wasn't sure where to drive and stay. I wished we had longer by the look of it !

 

[JohnM]

I have only booked the flights so far . I was planning on hiring a car for the days just wasn't sure where to drive and stay. I wished we had longer by the look of it !

Well worth driving the full ring if you can and agree it's best to spend most of your time out in the country.

 

[UpInTheAir:)]

What amazing photos Kaiser! I have never been to Iceland but this does look amazing! I did do a sled dog tour in Tromso in January (when we were there for the northern lights) and it was much better than I expected.. I was amazed at the quietness.. what a way to travel over the snow... reminded me of Dr Zhivago (without the angst lol)! Thank you for the memory and the sharing

 

[Winston1]

Great trip report. Would love to go see some of these sights.
Youre a really good photographer Kaiser.

 

[a330j]

Fantastic photos Kaiser, really shows off the stunning landscape. Thanks for sharing. Iceland just made it onto my bucket list.

 

[amaroo]

What amazing photos Kaiser! I have never been to Iceland but this does look amazing! I did do a sled dog tour in Tromso in January (when we were there for the northern lights) and it was much better than I expected.. I was amazed at the quietness.. what a way to travel over the snow... reminded me of Dr Zhivago (without the angst lol)! Thank you for the memory and the sharing

Keen to hear more about your experience in Tromsø. I'll drop you a PM....

 

[Kaiser]

Thanks all for the kind words. A few more from this stunning country...

Svartifoss

Southern landscape

Foss a Sidu

Jokulsaron

Dreamy Vik coastline

 

[Winston1]

They really are stunning photos. You are clearly good at post processing also. Though the last image, for me, is a little too processed.
Anyhoo, like another poster mentioned, you've put iceland on my bucket list. Look forward to seeing more picks if you have any and are inclined to post them.
- Oh, are you on flickr or 500px?

 

[Kaiser]

I agree that last one I pushed a little too far for my tastes now, although that was from a few years back when I was experimenting with a more dreamy look to the scene. I try and capture the mood that I felt when I was there. A few more then I'll stop bombarding you all with pictures. I will also try and add some more useful information in the futures in regards to our accommodations and particularly interesting places to go (although really, it's hard to not view every place as mind blowing).

Strokur

Kirkjufell

Sunset near Akuyeri

Long exposure of a cairn

Inquisitive locals

 

[coolkid101]

absolutely gorgeous pictures - thanks so much for sharing.

 

[love_the_life]

The Icelandic sheep are such an interesting breed - rather like a cotton ball with matches stuck out for legs! We brought a sheepskin back for daughter when we were there. Also a reindeer pelt for us, we had to buy new luggage to bring them home!
Great pics. Would go back to that region in a heartbeat (but still other places to see first unfortunately).

 

[Winston1]

absolutely gorgeous pictures - thanks so much for sharing.

They really are. I enjoy looking at pics on Flickr and these are as good as any you're likely to see there or on 500px

What camera do you use? I know that it's not the camera that makes the picture good, I'm just curious...
if I had to guess, I'd say Nikon or Sony, because my experience with canon and recovering shadows isn't terrific.
also, did you see northern lights? - we've had Canada and Alaska earmarked for our next holidays mainly because of the lights (but also the Rockies). The more I see of Iceland, the more I'm drawn to it.
thanks so much for posting.

 

[Kaiser]

They really are. I enjoy looking at pics on Flickr and these are as good as any you're likely to see there or on 500px

What camera do you use? I know that it's not the camera that makes the picture good, I'm just curious...
if I had to guess, I'd say Nikon or Sony, because my experience with canon and recovering shadows isn't terrific.
also, did you see northern lights? - we've had Canada and Alaska earmarked for our next holidays mainly because of the lights (but also the Rockies). The more I see of Iceland, the more I'm drawn to it.
thanks so much for posting.

No Northern lights unfortunately - wrong time of year to see them - we had perpetual daylight/twilight - (great for photography). The first trip I took a full frame Nikon D700, however the second trip I downsized and took a m4/3 Olympus EM-1 and Panasonic GX7. The pics I posted are about a 50/50 mix of both trips.

 

[zig]

A beautiful country and your stunning photographs certainly do it justice.

What are the accommodation options like when driving the ring road? is there much choice? Do you need to pre-book or can you risk just showing up?

 

[RooFlyer]

I'd also like to hear about accommodation options on the ring road ( not just where you stayed, if you remember other places).

 

[Kaiser]

We used Hostelling International exclusively while traversing the Ring Road 1. The website is: Hostelling International Iceland. Hostels in Iceland. Budget accommodation for families and youth backpackers. / hostel.is Basic accommodation but always clean. As you will see in the map they are well spread around the Ring Road. The crowds at the hostels were an ecletic mix of families, younger and older travellers.

There are other accomodation options including farmstays (Icelandic Farm Holidays | Tours and Accommodation).

The first trip in May 2011 I could have gotten away with not booking most of the hostels. However the second time I returned in the peak of summer (July 2014) and most of the hostels were full - I had to book about 4 months out. I think it was a combination of the booming popularity of the country and the fact it was the middle of summer. The highway never had traffic jams or anything but the carparks at some sites got full during the daytime. The benefit of summer though is you can go somewhere at anytime of the night and still have decent light. Some sites are starting to become more commercialised which is a shame but inevitable with the rising number of visitors.

 

[SuePa]

Thanks for sharing your stunning photos, Kaiser. Iceland has been on my To Do list for a while. I'll get there one day.